PARK CITY, Utah, April 17, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Sundance Institute on Wednesday announced it has begun a process that will allow it to consider other U.S. locations for the festival.
On Tuesday, it opened a Request for Information (RFI), to be followed May 1 by a request for proposals (RFP) “to explore viable locations in the United States to host the Sundance Film Festival beginning in 2027.”
“The 2025 and 2026 Festivals will continue in partnership with Park City, Utah, which serves as the headquarters for the Festival, and the state of Utah,” said an announcement released by the Institute. “The 2025 Sundance Film Festival will occur in Park City and Salt Lake City from January 23 to February 2, 2025.”
One early reaction came in from Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson:
“For 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival has been a cultural and entertainment treasure in Utah. The festival reflects Utahn Robert Redford’s vision that the voices of film artists have a place in Utah and throughout the world. Salt Lake County is committed to partnering with Sundance, other governments, and the broader community to ensure that the festival remains an asset in Utah for decades to come.”
Sundance and Utah
The Sundance Film Festival’s 40-year history has been centered in Park City and Utah.
“Sundance Institute’s connection to Utah is profound, reflecting decades of shared cultural achievements that have shaped the Festival into what it is today,” says the statement from the nonprofit Sundance Institute.
“With the Festival’s current contract with Park City up for renewal starting in 2027, the RFI/RFP will allow the Institute to evaluate, consider, and build on its foundation for an accessible Festival serving a growing global independent creative community.
“The Institute is making sure that inclusivity and sustainability are always at the forefront of the festival experience, while preserving the Festival’s key mission and responsibility: discovering and supporting independent storytellers and introducing their work to new audiences.”
Eugene Hernandez is director of the Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming.
“We are in a unique moment for our Festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to responsibly consider how we best continue sustainably serving our community while maintaining the essence of the Festival experience,” Hernandez said in the released statement.
“We are looking forward to conversations that center supporting artists and serving audiences as part of our mission and work at Sundance Institute, and are motivated by our commitment to ensure that the Festival continues to thrive culturally, operationally, and financially as it has for four decades.”
The Festival, a public program run by the nonprofit, is designed to be “the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives and supporting independent film,” the announcement says.
“The Festival had a record number of submissions this year — more than 17,000 from 153 countries — reflecting a continued vitality in the independent film industry and a desire to launch and screen work to the Sundance community.”
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally, the statement says.
Among the successful, influential and groundbreaking works introduced are Past Lives, 20 Days in Mariupol, The Eternal Memory, Theater Camp, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Fair Play, A Thousand and One, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Rye Lane, Navalny, Fire of Love, Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Minari, Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, O.J.: Made in America, On the Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs, and sex, lies, and videotape.
Gephardt Daily will have more information as this story develops.
